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Hirohito - Emperor of Japan

Hirohito, Emperor of Japan during World War II, was known as "Tenno" to the Japanese people. He had ascended the “Chrysanthemum Throne” in 1926, after the death of his father, the Emperor Yoshihito.

Hirohito, as his grandfather before him, was considered to be a god by his countrymen. After the war—when his subjects heard Hirohito’s voice for the first time, announcing Japan’s surrender—they realized he was only a man.

How did Hirohito evade responsibility for the war? Other Japanese people were charged with war-crimes, but why was the man at the top—the one who had approved the Pearl Harbor attacks—not charged?

During the spring of 1946, in a series of secret meetings with his advisors, Hirohito gave an explanation (among other things) for the country's decision to go to war in 1941. Terasaki Hidenari, a career diplomat (who was married to an American from Tennessee), recorded Hirohito's Monologue (which is known, in Japan, as Showa tenno no dokuhaku).

Hidenari's daughter found those notes—after her parents' deaths—but she did not immediately realize their historical significance. Hirohito's Monologue was published in 1990.

Media Credits

Clip from the BBC series, produced and directed by Tim Robinson, "As it Happened" - episode, "Emperor Hirohito." Copyright, BBC, all rights reserved. Clip provided here as fair use for educational purposes and to acquaint new viewers with the program. Subtitles by Hiroko Moore and Brenden Dannaher, copyright SBS Australia.